


Take A Break, Darling

by sunlian



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Kinda nonsense but I just wanted to write viv being a good friend, Vivienne Is A Great Friend, bc she is and deserves all the love, in this house we love and appreciate vivienne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 16:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13275816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunlian/pseuds/sunlian
Summary: When the Inquisitor returns from Emprise Du Lion, Vivienne requests to see her dear friend at her earliest convenience.





	Take A Break, Darling

**Author's Note:**

> A fic that I’m FINALLY finishing lmao. It’s been stuck in the notes of my phone for ages now. Sorry if it’s not great I just wanna get it out there.
> 
> Thanks to ADlegend21 on tumblr for telling me not to give up on this fic!

Vivienne places her book down when she hears the Inquisitor approach her little domain, gently rising up from her lounge. She doesn’t try to hide her smile at seeing her dear friend after weeks of no contact but offical reports from Emprise Du Lion; the Red Templars were dug in, and dug in deep.  
Nevertheless, the Inquisition and, of course, their Inquisitor, were victorious in driving them back and then out of Suledin Keep.

Usiu Lavellan offers her a apologetic smile, scratching at the scar barely hidden by the shaved part of her hair. A charming little nervous tic.

“My apologies for being late. The war meeting went on a lot longer than I thought it would.”

Vivienne brushes it off, “It’s no cause for concern,” she assures, lightly placing her hand on her upper arm, “it’s good to see you again, my dear.” She takes her hand away and gestures to the great door that opens out onto her balcony. Usiu nods and heads out, and waits for Vivienne to join her before leaning forward and folding her arms atop the railing, staring out at the grounds of Skyhold.

It’s busy. Well, it’s always busy in a way, but with the return of the injured and exhausted from Emprise, and the preparation of more to send back to the snowy territory, who were being sent to the Keep for a number of tasks and operations, it’s even busier than usual. The tavern is loud and will only get louder as the afternoon turns into evening, and then into night, and Vivienne spots a small gaggle of visiting nobles, presumably the ones that arrived this morning. Probably still on the hunt for the Inquisitor; Vivienne makes a mental note to send Josephine a little gift for keeping them occupied and away from the exhausted young woman.

“It’s good to see you as well, Vivienne,” Usiu starts up, breaking the brief silence, “As messy as it was down there, I wish you could’ve come with us.”

“As do I, but with the influx of visitors from the Orlesian Court, it simply would not be fair to leave our poor ambassador to fend them off on her own,” Vivienne sniffs but her lips curl into a small smile, “though I doubt the... wisdom... of taking Dorian and Iron Bull to such a place.”

Usiu snorts in amusement, leaning back up with a grin,  
“Tell me about it. Bull was fine, but I think he nearly poked about 15 eyes out and made way too many bad jokes about it. Sera wasn’t helping, either.”

Vivienne rolls her eyes at the mention of the Red Jenny, but she does it with a certain fondness.  
“She certainly seems the type to enable such ‘humour’, yes.”

“But Dorian,” Usiu continues, throwing her hands up and beginning to gesture wildly, “Dorian. Creators. I told him, ‘Hey Dorian, this mission is going to take us into the Emprise Du Lion and it’s going to be freezing; do you need robes that don’t have your entire shoulder and upper chest sticking out?’ And he replies ‘Oh don’t worry Usiu, I have the perfect ensemble for such an outing!”

Vivienne chuckles, amused with the theatrics and her rather accurate, if exaggerated, imitation of Dorian’s voice.  
“Did he?”

“He has this... little shoulder drape-y coat thing. I think it was woollen.”

“Hmm. And I think I can imagine how the rest of the campaign in the Emprise went.”

Usiu leans forward again with a little huff, “He stole one of Blackwall’s surcoats at one point. I mean, Blackwall didn’t mind, but the point still stands.”

Vivienne hums in sympathy, quietly noting the heavy way the elf’s shoulders slump and how she lets her head fall forward for a brief couple of seconds. She is very tired, but hiding it rather admirably. So much has been placed on this young woman’s shoulders, but she hears it without a complaint, going above and beyond what is expected of her, of the Inquisition. The Inquisition- no, all of southern Thedas- would be so lucky to call such a woman their champion.

And Vivienne is beyond proud to call her a close friend.

But this duty, the Game, the countless fronts and campaigns- it takes a toll on everyone, and while Vivienne knows better than most that it’s not something one can simply ignore or abandon, she also knows that everyone needs to take a step back every now and again.

“Darling, I hate to change to subject, but you’ve certainly noticed the recent influx of visiting nobility by now.”

Usiu sighs, though it’s very obvious that she wanted to groan instead, standing back up straight and stepping away from the railing, turning to face her.

“Yes. Apparently they nearly swarmed me on my return to Skyhold,” she shudders slightly, perhaps more overacting, but then again, Vivienne doesn’t exactly relish the idea of being surrounded by demanding socialites and impetuous lords immediately after arriving home, either.

“Indeed, and they were visiting in positive hoards when you were away.”

“Josephine must be exhausted,” Usiu sighs out, guilt flickering across her features at the thought of the overworked ambassador.

“Actually, I had a thought about that. A way to give both you the break you so dearly need.”

“Oh?”

Vivienne chuckles fondly at the way Usiu perks up, right up to her ears flicking up in attention, the way she always does when conversation shifts to be about her beloved girlfriend.

“You see, a few acquaintances of mine wish to declare their support for the Inquisition, but I find myself terribly busy with my fellow court members already at Skyhold. I had scheduled a few meetings- lunches, small dinners, quiet garden party affairs really- in the capital over the next week.”

“How many?”

“3 or 4,” Vivienne says almost dismissively, “plenty of time for the pair you to relax. Really, they’re just formality; I’ve discussed the details and conditions of their support beforehand.”

Usiu blinks, a crooked smile beginning to spread across her features as she realises what exactly is being offered to her.  
“I- that’s... that sounds like a wonderful idea! Thank you, Vivienne!”

“Think nothing of it, my dear. Few people are deserving of a break.”

As Usiu says her goodbyes and gives her one last thank-you, Vivienne can’t help but give one last content smile at her dear friend, quietly thankful that she can help take at least some of the burden off her shoulders.


End file.
